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There are four distinct surf breaks at Ho'okipa. Pavilions is the break furthest east, off the lookout parking. West from it, facing the main parking, is Middles break. Usually these are both left to surfers. The area between the two, which catches fewer breaking sets, is sometimes referred to as Girlie Bowl or Green Trees. Next further west, facing the lifeguard tower and the narrow sand beach launch, is H‘Poko or Point. It is the most popular break for windsurfing, and generally breaks as a right. With the prevailing trade wind direction being east to east-north-east, this is most frequently down-the-line sailing on starboard tack (wind from right when standing on the beach). Yet further west, past the rocky point, is Lanes, which generally breaks as a left. Under relatively rare conditions, known as Kona, the prevailing winds become southwest, and Lanes is ridden down-the-line on port tack(wind from left when standing on the beach). This only occurs a few days out of every year.

Over the years Ho'okipa has been the site for organized windsurfing competitions in the Wave discipline.[1] A long-running annual event is the Aloha Classic, a Pro-Am competition with age categories for contestants.[2] The Red Bull King of the Air international kitesurfing competition was held at Ho'okipa from 1999-2005.[3]

Like many locations on the Maui and Oahu North Shore, Ho'okipa Beach is occasionally a tourist attraction in the winter time because of spectacularly large surf. In the afternoon on 15 December 2004, for example, tourists visited the beach to see waves as large as 30 feet pound the shore; officials warned visitors to stay away from the water, as the surf was very deadly. Despite this, Ho'okipa is not an ideal site for true big-wave riding, as the waves close out when their faces approach about 25 feet. During such episodes, other deep-water breaks offer more rideable waves (an example of which is Jaws, offshore Peahi, Maui, which is a very short car ride from Hookipa.)